After ice bound land
by gracelions
Summary: This is my idea of what happens after Icebound land. There will be adventures, secrets (Will will have secrets, but they'll be discovered) and journeys. I won't use John Flanagan's storyline, but there's a slight chance that I will use some of the characters and scenes just not the way he did.
1. Chapter 1

It was a cold winter night. The wind was howling, picking up the light snow just to set it down some distance away stocking new heaps. A few night creatures were out in the open looking for their meals, but most of the animals were in their little homes safe from the cold, the wind and any danger. Up there in this cold wooded area stood a little cabin with a stall attached to the side of it. The stall's only occupant was a strong, little pony. He was a great help and a faithful companion to the two araluans, who occupied the small cabin. The teenagers slept in the safe and relatively warm house peacefully. Well one of them. The other one not being so lucky had a nightmare.

The young apprentice tossed and turned on the ground. His light blanket wrapped around his body tighter with each toss and turn. The boy on the ground didn't feel the physical pain his blanket caused with being wrapped around his legs so tightly, because the nightmare that claimed him had a strong grip on him. The reason the nightmare had a vice like grip on the boy was a simple, but terrifying fact. It wasn't a simple nightmare. No, it was far from that. It was a horrible memory he was reliving in his dream if you can call it that. As the memory was nearing, it's, worst point the boy was saved from reliving it. The boy woke up with a gasp, eyes wide and trembling with fear. His eyes that were wide and full of fear darted around the one roomed cabin as he still laid on the ground unable to move because the fear of the memory paralyzed him.

As he looked around he realized he was in a small cabin with Evanly sleeping on the bed on the other side of the cabin peacefully. At first he didn't understand anything. _How did we get here? Where are we? What happened?_ Thought the boy searching his memories frantically for answers. As he remembered the events and what Evanlyn had told him he calmed down and the question that was in the back of his mind came to him. _What woke me up?_ The boy racked his brain for an answer, but wasn't able to get an answer until he realized there was some kind of noise coming from outside. He pried his blanket off of him, went to the door silently and peaked out cautiously. No one was out there in the dark, cold winter night so the boy walked out. As he looked around he saw what woke him up. Ice was falling from the sky. The pieces were as big as cherries and made quiet, a good amount of noise falling on the roof of the cabin. The noise annoyed him, but he was thankful for it nonetheless, because he would have to relive that horrible memory completely if it wasn't for this noise.

As the apprentice was watching the falling ice with his back to the open door he didn't realize immediately that the noise reached the sleeping girls brain turning her dream into a nightmare, making her toss and turn. He realized it once the girl began speaking loud enough for him to hear.

"No." she mumbled. "Please! Help!" she said making the boy turn around. "No. No. No! Help!" as she said this getting louder with each word the boy was jogging towards her after he closed the door. "WILL!" screamed the girl just when the young ranger reached her.

The boy grabbed the tossing girl's shoulders and shook her awake constantly saying that: "It's okay. It's just a nightmare." The girl's eyes snapped open revealing her green orbs. For a moment she looked terrified, but then her eyes set on the boy and calmed down instantly. Evanlyn felt the boy's on her shoulders weaken before the apprentice took his hands off of her, but with this he unintentionally took away what she needed. She needed him by her side, she needed his touch to know he's here, both physically and mentally, that he's through his addiction, but most of all she needed to know that she's not alone in this cold, foreign land far from her family and home with danger lurking in the shadows. The princess in incognito grabbed the young ranger's arm preventing him from pulling away. She looked in narrowed eyes asking her why she did this.

"I don't want to be alone." whispered the girl not meeting her companion's gaze.

"Don't be ashamed. Your want for comfort is perfectly normal and understandable." said the boy lifting up her chin so she could look in his eyes. When Evanlyn looked up she saw understanding, care and kindness in his warm chocolate brown eyes.

Evanlyn scooted over so the ranger had room to lay down next to her. Once Will laid down under the rough fabric of the cover he pulled Evanlyn to his chest embracing her in a warm, much needed hug. The crown princess felt content, happy and safe in his arms going back to sleep in a matter of seconds. The apprentice on the other hand didn't go back to sleep so fastly, in fact he didn't go back to sleep at all.

 **Time skip**

The morning light caught the young ranger awake, still holding the girl and so tired that he dreaded he will fall asleep any moment now, but he didn't want to so he fought with all his might to stay awake he was lost in the battle until Evanlyn stirred in his arms redirecting his attention to herself unconsciously. He looked down at her face as she began to wake up.

"Good morning." whispered the boy once the crown princess woke up.

"Morning." mumbled Evanlyn snuggling closer to him.

Will smiled kindly at her before placing a light kiss on the top of her head then let he go and climbed out of bed. "I'm going to make breakfast. You stay here and rest." said the apprentice before walking away from the bed leaving Evanlyn alone. She felt tired and she was really grateful for the opportunity. She curled up into a ball and closed her eyes pretending the boy was still next to her giving her warmth and comfort. After a few seconds she opened her eyes and watched the boy working on their breakfast fooling her with his act. He appeared to be fresh and full of energy.

 _It will be a long day_ , thought Will as he prepared the food feeling Evanlyn's eyes on him watching his every movement. He knew the girl didn't know there was something wrong with him, but her watching was unnerving. _It really will be a long day._


	2. Chapter 2

Once Will was done with their anything, but satisfying breakfast they sat down at the table and ate it not wasting it. The food gave them energy that they needed. Especially Will, who just got over his addiction. The young ranger's body was weak because he barely ate anything while addicted. Evanlyn knew that, but she also knew that they will need to move out sooner or later so the hunters won't catch them. What she didn't know was that the boy's memories began to come back. Slowly all the things the warm weed blocked from him began to come back. And they were anything but happy. For example he remembered what it felt like to have shackles on his ankles in the cold. It was cold and painful making it hard to move around. Will found himself shivering, because of the cold in his memories, every time he dwelled too long on them. He didn't tell Evanlyn that his memories were coming back. He didn't want her to worry so he acted normal and let her lean on him whenever she felt like she couldn't do this anymore and needed someone she could dump her problems on so she will be able to cope with them. Will didn't mind helping her, but with him not sharing his troubles with anyone it was becoming harder and harder for him to go on.

After they were done eating breakfast and washing dishes they pulled on their thick, warm clothes, grabbed their hunting weapons and went to search for some small animal they could catch. They needed something more satisfying than their current meals that consisted of the things from the hunting cabin.

Outside of the small cabin laid a cold, unforgiving land full of snow and ice. The two young araluan walked slowly in the mid shin deep snow towards the nearby trees that marked the beginning of the woods. The air was crispy and cold, the ground was slippery from the ice patches hidden by the snow.

The way through the forest was a hard exercise for Will in his weakened state, but he masked it with hard will and determination. His act was so good that Evanlyn thought he was getting his strength back fastly and will be able to travel after few more days. Sadly, that was far from the truth. They waded through the thick blanket of snow that crunched softly under their feet. Their cheeks turned pink from the cold air while they made their way to the trees that were close to a little stream that provided fresh water to the animals and to them since they found it because it was easier to get water from the stream then collect clean snow, melt it over fire then let it cool down to be able to pack it away. They hide behind trees watching the small clearing like area keeping their weapons at ready to catch anything they could.

Waiting patiently in the cold snow was exhausting and nerve-racking because you never know when and if an animal will come and even if one comes there's a chance that they will miss their shots and go home empty handed. Their boots were already wet on the outside, but the water began to seep through them and soak their socks and the inside of their boots. They waited for two long hours in silence unmovingly. Nothing happened in that two hour except that their muscles turned stiff from cold. Evanlyn had already gave up after an hour and a half. She was still there behind the tree waiting silently, but she no longer held her weapon in hand. She crouched in the snow and hugged her knees closer to her chest to keep herself as warm as she could. Will on the other hand was still ready to shot something down to be able to eat something better. He sighed knowing that they couldn't wait too much more or they will have trouble with warming their muscels up.

They didn't need to wait too much longer before a couple of rabbit came to the stream to drink. Will let them get to the water in the middle of the clearing. Once the animals got distracted with drinking Will made his move and shot down one of them instantly then grabbed another arrow and shot the other before it could leave the clearing. Will had a triumphant look on his face for a few second sat the captures before collecting them and pulling Evanlyn up from the ground. She looked at Will's left hand which kept a firm grip on, their preys'. He took her hand in his and began to make his way through the woods towards the cottage with the princess in tow.

The walk back was longer and harder. Their stiff muscles burned because of being put to work after hours of stillness in the cold. Will's body ached all over. He knew Evanlyn's body too, but not to the degree his own did. Going through the deep snow that weighed down their feet was more tiring on the way back sipping away their energy just like the cold. Will made sure to step in the footprints he left a little bit over two hours ago to make the walk back as easy as he could. Evanlyn didn't understand what and why he was doing, but soon caught on it and copied him.

After they got back, Will put on of the rabbits away for later and skinned the other. He learned to skin animals so good that he didn't need to think about it, his hands moved doing the work without him thinking on it. He absentmindedly thanked the heavens that his mentor drilled this and many other useful things in him so much that he could do them without really thinking of them. He missed Halt. He missed how he made him feel safe knowing he always knows what to do. As he mulled over all these things he got done with his work. He took the skinned animal and chopped it up to little squares to cook a stew. Once he was done with the meat he took it inside the cabin to start on their lunch. There wasn't much he could cook from so they knew that it won't be as good as the one they ate in Celtic, but eating something more satisfying made them too happy to care. After the stew was done Will filled two bowl with half of it.

"Lunch is ready!" called the young ranger to the girl, who was curled up into a ball on the bed with the blanket on her. She was still trying to warm herself up. She got up and stumbled over to the boy, who held out a bowl of hot stew to her.

The steam of the stew hit her face warming it up. Her lips curled into a small, happy smile. She sat down next to the young ranger, who was waiting for her and they began to devour their meals. The stew's hot liquid burned their tongues and throats at the first couple of spoons full of it, because they didn't cool it down by blowing air at them. Their tongues and throats hurt, but they didn't care. The pain was bearable. Nothing they couldn't handle. Once they were eating their two bowls of stew per head they drank cold water numbing the pain.

With her stomach full and being warm again the girl became sleepy. Her mind got fuzzy and she mumbled out the thing that was on her mind for days now, but couldn't tell him out of fear of what will be his reaction to it.

"We should pack and leave this place soon behind before that man, who looked somewhat like a hunter, comes back" After she told this to Will she walked back to bed and laid down on it under the covers falling asleep.

Will sat stock still on the ground, where he sat when they were eating, frozen down by surprise and shock. He only had one thought running through his head. ' _We're in deep shit!'_


	3. Chapter 3

Wind, blown, strongly and unstoppably through the rocky landscape creating a dust cloud, which was too thick for the two lonely rider to be able to see anything. The only reason they were able to move forward though was the horses they rode on. The equines had bend their necks to shield their eyes just like the riders and depended only on their hearing and careful, probing steps to get forward.

The little group consisted of two humans and four equines. Two of the horses were proud battle horses while the other two were shaggy manned small horses, one of them a pony with a barrel chest. The humans were just as different as the horses. On the shaggy horse was a man, who was short, had pepper-grey hair and beard, and wore a green-grey mottled cloak with the cowl pulled deeply in his eyes, soft brown boots, a pair of brown trousers and a white shirt. His choice of weapons were just as weird as his cloak because he only had a long bow with a quiver full of arrows and a pair of knives. His younger companion on the other hand had a sword and a shield with him, wore a chain shirt over his simple clothes. It was easy to tell even from far that the younger was a knight while the older was a mystery.

The horses trotted forward slowly towards Skandia. _Towards Will._ Thought Halt glumly. He was still mad about Will's enslavement. He wanted his apprentice to be back at home with him in his cabin where the boy would be safe. He couldn't imagine life without him. He became so accustomed to the boy's endless questioning that the quiet loneliness disturbed him. He couldn't find his place without him anymore. He was more than an apprentice to him, Halt came to see him as his son.

Horace was determined to get his best friend back. He was still angry with Morgarath, who's, Scandinavian soldiers caught Will and Evanlyn. He was happy that he could go with Halt to free them. The only downside was Halt's silence. He would have been happier if the old ranger would talk more and smile a little bit. The journey so far contained more fight than he thought it will. Making it harder and longer than he anticipated. He couldn't believe they were on their quest to get Will and Evanlyn back for months now.

Halt was trying to find shelter to hide from the storm which was coming their way. He knew that once the wind dies down there will be a couple minutes of silence before the storm hits down. He knew it for a long while now, but didn't want to tell his companion until he really needs to.

The wind began to die down and with that the two rider was able to look around more and more. Halt's trained eyes found a faraway cave once the wind stopped completely. He motioned to Horace to pick up their pace and follow him. The young warrior did as ordered even though he didn't understand why they needed to hurry. He trusted the older man and knew that he was a great leader especially when they were out in the wild.

It took them a good 15 minutes to reach the cave even with their fast pace. As it was luck was on their side because the rain only began to fall after they were inside the cave where they were protected from the elements. The two set up camp, took the equipment off the horses and sat down to wait it out.

The cave was cold, full of small rocks, and uncomfortable, but it was safe and that was all that really mattered to them right now. Halt knew that a long, tiring wait was ahead of them so he sat down and began preparing their diner.

Horace didn't know how long they will need to wait, but he thought that after an hour or two the rain will stop and the sky will clear. Little did he know that the storm will keep them in place for a long time with no way of continuing their journey for two whole day.


	4. Chapter 4

The apprentice ranger was panicking. What he just learned was important. It meant they had to pack up and leave as soon as they could, meaning they had to leave this place behind tomorrow morning at the early hours when the sun is just rising up. Will stood up and began to pack up everything they could need while making a route for them mentally and coming up with plans in case of an emergency. In an hour and a half he packed up nearly everything only leaving out their warm clothes, weapons, and blankets. After he was done, he went out to feed and give water to the pony they had.

The strong, little equine was happy to see the two legged creature, but that happiness turned to confusion quickly at the fear he smelled on the boy. The pony looked around, but didn't see, smell or hear anything close by that could have been the cause of the human's fear. She watched attentively as the boy gave her food and water.

"Get some rest girl. You will need your energy when we move out in a few hours." advised the apprentice as he was scratching her neck. "Sadly it's not safe to stay here anymore." sighed the boy. He leaned onto her and soon she felt the boy's tears on her shoulder accompanied by shaking which meant he was crying. She turned to her food letting the human relive himself from some of his stress in private.

After crying for half an hour Will pulled back from the pony. The equine looked at him with a "Do you feel better?" look. He just nodded once not trusting his voice. Times like this he really missed his mentor. The man didn't talk much, but he always listened when he needed to tell someone his problems. He knew exactly when the young apprentice needed a shoulder to cry on or a person, who pulled his problems out of him. The ranger, his mentor was more to him than those titles, he was his father figure since… well he couldn't tell exactly since when. He never thought about it he just came to regard the man like that.

Will's hand slid off of the horse as he stepped away. His head was turned downwards as he was looking at the ground like he was ashamed of himself for showing weakness. He walked back inside of the cabin and laid down to sleep. Hoping he will have a nightmare free sleep while praying for Halt to find him.

Dawn came too soon for the apprentice, who only got a couple hours of sleep. Looking out he saw the first rays of the sun falling on the snow making it sparkling. It looked like an endless white blanket that got covered in fairy dust. It made him long for a full night's restful, nightmare free sleep. He went over to the bed where Evanlyn was sleeping and lightly shook her shoulder. The girl awoke slowly from her deep sleep. She looked around trying to find the reason for the extremely early wake up. Finding nothing other than packed up bags she turned her inquiring eyes on the boy.

"We're leaving." was all he said.

"What?" asked a now completely awake princess. She tried to understand this out of the blue decision. Thinking back to yesterday she mentally went through everything she could suddenly remember. It took her two full minutes to pull the correct memory forward, but when she did she realized with a start, what she told him yesterday. She wanted to lie to him, to deny so the boy could rest for at least a little bit longer, but when she looked at his face she could tell, that he won't back down. Giving a resigned sigh she got up pulled her warm clothes on, helped the apprentice in carrying their luggage out to the pony, where the boy fastened everything onto the equines back save for their weapons.

As the small group began to trek away from the cabin, following the path that had led them there Will looked back at the building. It had been a safe place for them for some time and he felt vulnerable without a house to return to, where he could sleep safely. He turned his back to the cabin and hardened his determination to not look back lest his will would break.


End file.
